Josiah vavasseur



.-To all to whom fit 'ma/y concern:v

Jos'IAH YvAvAssEU'R, 0F SOUTHWARK; ENGLAND.-

Lam Paten; No. 90,323, am: May 1s, 1369 patented a England, Membern, 186s mnovamnmne Locker-oa eminence.,

The seneams 'referred so in time Lettere Patent and making pm of the same.

A Be it known that I, JosLAH VAvAssEUR, of 'the London Ordnance-Works, Bear Lane, Southwark,

England, a subject of the Queen of` Great Britain,

have invented or discovered new and useful .Improve ments in Apparatus for Discharging Ordnance, and I, thel said J osLeH VAvAssEUR, do hereby declare the nature of the vsaid invention, and in what manner the Same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained vin and Vby the following'f'statement thereof;l that is to say- This vinvention has for its object improvements in lappar-afgis lfor discharging ordnance. i lW'hen a piece of ordnance is discharged by means Yof `a vent which is left open during the exp losion,'iiame and gases, resultingfr'om the explosion, rush from the the vent is closed, in the following manner, which is;

also advantageous, because it causes a large volume of dame to be instantaneously thrown among the charg 'to be ignited:

I introduce into the outer end of the vent, which is suitably chambered to receive it, a capsule, like the case of a cartridge for a breech-loading rifle.

This capsule is provided Withia percussion-priming,

andis loaded with a charge of gnnpowder, or similar explosive material, sutcient to produce the volume of flame required. Y J

The capsule is held in the chamber of the vent, so that it may not blow back on ring, by means of a suitable cover to the vent, strong enough to resist the pressure of the gas.

This cover is also fitted with a needle or striker, for

exploding the priming of the capsule.

I arrange the cover 4to slide from one side on to the I head Yof the vent-piece, so as to allow the capsule to be withdrawn.

This covermay be dovetailed, so as to hold it securely.-

When the cover is in its place, the needle or striker, which it carries, stands truly over the priming of the cartridge, and the piece is fired by liberating a springhammer, which may also be mounted on the cover, so as to allow it to descend onthe needle or striker.

The liberation of the hammer may conveniently be effected, by drawing out a pin or stop, bymeans of a lanyard or cord.

0n the discharge taking place, the pressure of the gas inside the capsule hermetically closes the vent, just in the same way as the breech of an ordinary military ritle is closed gas-tight, by the cartridge-case, against thegases produced by the explosion.

An' extractor is provided, in connection with the chamber of the vent, to eject the capsuleafter liring.

And, in order'that my said .invention' `may'be most fully understood, and readily carried into effect, yI will proceed to describe the drawings hereunto annexed.

ADescription of the Drawings.

Figure l is a vertical section of the apparatus, to-

portion of the piece of ordnance to which It is lined with a copper tube, and' its end, which is. within the bore, is tipped with copper.

/ A plan of the part a is shown separately at Figure 2. It has a head, a, of a dovetail-form, in the centre of which is a cavity or chamber, a2, to receive a. capsule.

This chamber is formed somewhat like thecartridgechambereat tne rear end of the barrel of a breech-loading ride or fowling-piece, and it is fitted with an extractor, a". y y

The chamber a2 receives a metallic capsule, charged with powder or other suitable explosive substance, and provided, at its base, with a percussion-cap, or similar fulminator.

b'is a cover, to secure the capsule in its chamber. It is shown separately in plan, Figure 3.

This cover is able to turn on the centre-pin b, carried by an arm of the vent-piecea; and it ts to the dovetailed head of the vent-piece It is turned to one side, as is shown by the dotted lines. in fig. 2, to uncover the chamber a?, for the. introduction of the vcapsule; and, when the capsule has been inserted, and the cover is replaced, the striker b2, which the cover carries, stands vertically over the capsule, so that, when forced down, it strikes it at the centre of its base, where the fulminate is situated.

The striker is a pin, with a flange upon it, fitted into a cavity in the cover, and there secured by cap b.

A spiral springliolds the striker up oi' the capsule until it is forced down by the hammer c.

This hammer turns, at c', on a pin carried by the cover b,and a spring, as is shown, acts on the tail of the hammer, tending constantly to force it against the striker b2. j V

The hammer is raised by means of a handle with which it is furnished. It is secured by a pin, d, in-

serted into a socket formed at the top of the centrepin b and the tail of the hammer then bears upon it. A lanyard is attached to the pin d, and, when it is desired to fire the piece, by a sudden pull on the 1anyard, the pin is drawn out of the socket, and the ham! mer is liberated, sothat it may descend on the striker, and explode the capsule.

In some cases, the spring acting on the hammer may be dispensed with, and the hammer be directly actuated by the lanyard, in the manner shownl at Fig# ure 1X.

b is a stop-screw, xed in the coverb. end enters a groove in the veut-piece a, so as tolimit the motion of the cover to the distance required. a. shows the extractor, and the way in which it is applied. Itconsists of a lever, fitted in a recess in the face of the head a, and turning on a centre.

On one end of the lever, the flange of the capsule rests. The other is widened out, toform a thumbpiece, and is pushed down when the capsule is'to be extracted or the extractor may be arranged to receive its motion automatically 'om the cover.

A capsule, such as I -prefer to employ, is shown t'o an enlarged scale at Figure 4.

The tubular part of the capsule I make of copper, and it is connected with an iron disk or yhead by a hat-cap, or hollowrivet, containing a percussion-cap and anvil.

There is a papier-mache' wad within the capsule,

. serving both to render the connection between the parte more secure, and to protect the angles around the base of the capsule.

The construction ofthe capsules may be varied, and they may be made with the fulminating-material placed centrally, or in the rim ofthe base; or the capsule i. maybe made to fire the fulminating-material bya pin.

By the use of my invention, not only is the rapid wear-of the vent prevented, but the necessity of servvv ing the vent, or stopping with the thumb during loading', is avoided, land all chances of accident, arising from this operation being imperfectly performed, are removed.

In applying my invention to cast-iron gurls, it will not be necessaryto have a vent-tube passing through the metal of the gun. The vent, for tliegreater part of its length,` may be simply drilledin the gun itself. In other ways, the arrangements maybe varied, without departing from the invention.

tion, and the manner of performing the same, I would have it understood, that I claim, as my improvements in apparatus for discharging ordnance- 1. The combination of the dovetailcd vent-piece with the horizontally-moving cover, the combination being and operating substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the horizontally-moving cover, of the firing-pin and its spring, to `prevent accidental explosions, as set forth. i

8. The combination ofthe vent-piece, capsule-chamber, and its extractor, the combination being and op- `erating as set forth.

4.-The combination of the vertically-moving hammer with the horizontally-moving cover, both swinging on a common axis, to clear the'veut, as set forth.

5. The combinationl of the cover, the hammer, the spring, and the trigger, all mounted on the vent-stepper, as set forth.

JOSIAH YAVASSEUB. Witnesses:

G. F. wanner, Bau. of Nb. 17 armour/mn JOHN Dm, Smet, London.

Having thus described the nature of .the said inven-- 

